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Creating Character By Jim Rohn
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Character is the result of hundreds and hundreds of
choices you make that gradually turn who you are, at any given moment, into
who you want to be. If that decision-making process is not present, you will
still be somebody. You will still be alive, but may have a personality rather
than a character.
Character is not something you were born with and can't change like your
fingerprint. In fact, because you weren't born with it, it is something that
you must take responsibility for creating. I don't believe that adversity by
itself builds character and I certainly don't think that success erodes it.
Character is built by how you respond to what happens in your life. Whether
it's winning every game or losing every game. Getting rich or dealing with
hard times. You build character out of certain qualities that you must create
and diligently nurture within yourself. Just like you would plant and water a
seed or gather wood and build a campfire. You've got to look for those things
in your heart and in your gut. You've got to chisel away in order to find
them. Just like chiseling away the rock in order to create the sculpture that
has previously existed only in your imagination.
But do you want to know the really amazing thing about character? If you are
sincerely committed to making yourself into the person you want to be, you'll
not only create those qualities, but you'll continually strengthen them. And
you will recreate them in abundance even as you are drawing on them every day
of your life. Just like the burning bush in the biblical book of Exodus, the
bush burned but the flames did not consume it. Character sustains itself and
nurtures itself even as it is being put to work, tested, and challenged. And
once character is formed, it will serve as a solid, lasting foundation upon
which to build the life you desire.
To Your Success,
Jim Rohn
